CPDLC-a pilots point of view

[millerman]

I just wondered if there were any pilots out there who have been using CPDLC and what their views of it are?
Us lowly controllers are just asked (told) to use it but we don't get any feedback from anywhere!
Thanks in advance.:ok:

[ETOPS]

I have been using the CPDLC system on North Atlantic tracks for some time now and can happily report that it is very good. The basic logon that we use allows frequency changes at the boundaries to be uplinked but a couple of times I have requested level changes (technically outside the current trial) and had a virtually instant response on HF. The system seems robust and will, I feel, become standard in the future.....

[BlueEagle]

I've used it on the North Pacific and Indian Ocean to SA also in Australian and New Zealand airspace as well as during trials on the North Atlantic and from a pilots point of view it is the best invention since elastic sided boots!

Very flexible and adds a considerable degree of safety and improved communications in the more remote areas. IMHO.

[decimal86]

over a long stretch of water, it is a necessity. if you have been over the bay of bengal, you would appreciate it even more.

but over europe, i thought it was a bit of a luxury until somebody told me otherwise. ok point taken.

i would like to share this incident that happened to a mate of mine.

he was given a re-route over the pacific and when loaded into his fms, the last portion of it was corrupted, resulting in a very nasty letter in the box when he got back. at the end of it all, we were told to print it all out and then load into the fms. so there's my contribution to this.

other than that, better than sliced bread i would say.

[millerman]

Thanks for the replies.

I can see the usefulness over large stretches of water and agree that it is a very useful tool in these circumstances.
However i work in mainland Europe and as yet i have to be convinced of its usefulness except for the most routine things such as squawk and frequency changes!